Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Lesson 3. This is your pet – 1

At the very moment when he was brought into the secret room, Ban Yu-Won tried to surpass Ruchel in mimicking a pill bug. His arms wrapped around his neck to protect himself.

―You can look directly at me. My true body is not here.

However, the headmaster’s voice caused him to raise his head. Ban Yu-won looked ahead, cautious. A doll without vitality sat at a desk. It was sitting on its own and emitting sound through its mouth, but it didn’t move an inch.

“Principal…I mean, President?”

―Ban Yu-won, I will allow you to call me Master.

Given the way he spoke, he was no ordinary master. But Ban Yu-won nodded, holding back the urge to say it.

“Okay, Master.”

―I should tell you why I called you here first.

“Oh, yes, sir.”

―Actually, I don’t normally interfere with the growth of students.

He seemed prone to beating around the bush. However, Ban Yu-won quietly listened.

―If it is weak, let it be weak. If it is strong, let it be strong. I don’t care if they die in the Tower or survive to gain power and honor.

Then why are you the President? The answer came before he asked the question.

―My only purpose is to watch those who reach the end of the Tower. All other beings, whether weak or strong, ugly, beautiful, evil, or good, are all equally worthless.

Ban Yu-won had to ask.

“What is the Tower?”

Ban Yu-won was convinced that this was the Earth’s Tower of Babel, a building owned by the Ban family’s ancestors and, consequently, him. At the same time, he heard from his grandfather that if he regained the Tower of Babel, he would regain all the power and glory of his family. It was already engraved in his mind as a possibility, so even if he wasn’t sure if it was true, from the moment he faced the Tower, he was ready to risk his life to climb it.

But to the President and to the other students, what was the Tower of Babel?

―The Tower is the road to God and the ordeal sent by heaven. That is why I do not interfere with the students’ asceticism.

The Principal gave a short answer. Oddly enough, Ban Yu-won felt it rang true. Listening to the story of his ancestor, didn’t he have almost godlike powers? The Tower of Babel was even in this unknown dimension.

If there was a divine seat waiting at the end of the Tower, then he couldn’t help but understand…

―However.

If that was all the President had to say, there would be no reason to call Ban Yu-won to his office.

―But this time, I decided to make an exception.

“Um….”

―Because I see the potential in you. The greatest possibility I have ever seen.

The doll floated into the air and locked eyes with Ban Yu-won.

―A weak body but a surprisingly strong mind. It reveals your limitless potential.

“…”

―But, the instability between body and mind will stimulate others badly, and if left as is, others will surely get in the way before you flower. I can’t just stand and watch.

When the doll reached out and pointed to the pendant hanging from Ban Yu-won’s neck, a slight vibration shook the chain. The flow of characters inside the pendant morphed. Although Ban Yu-won didn’t fully understand it, he memorized the differences.

After some time, the pendant calmed down, and the Principal said:

―But I won’t help you climb the Tower. I just took the measures for you to be ready to climb the Tower.

“What is that?”

―I gave you permission to explore the dungeon outside.

“Outside? Do you mean outside the academy?”

―Yes.

In this world where Union Academy was located, there were dungeons. They were special areas infested with monsters and traps and maintained by a dungeon core, similar to where Ban Yu-Won took his practical test. There were so many it was pointless to count them, which was why the Principal sometimes used students to clear them out.

―Your student ID has a function that allows you to teleport and explore external dungeons, so be sure to explore in your spare time before entering the Tower.

“Ah…!”

Only then did Ban Yu-won realize the Principal’s consideration. Even though he stood to grow a bunch, Ban Yu-won was currently holding back his classmates. The Principal allowed him to develop his abilities by exploring the dungeons of a lower difficulty before entering the Tower.

―Of course, an outside dungeon isn’t always easy or safe. It will be on you to survive.

“I wouldn’t ask for anything else.”

The difficulty of the external dungeons was generally lower than that of the Tower. It was just the right conditions for the current Ban Yu-won.

―If you cast the spell, you can go directly to the dungeon, and if you cast the spell again after exploring, you will return to where you were before.

“Ah….”

This was the same as what he had heard before. But.

―Remember that the spell’s chant is ‘Drown in the infinite darkness.’

The spell was a little more serious than Professor Yoo-Mina’s!

―Go now. Ban Yu-won, don’t stop and keep moving.

“Thank you, Master.”

Ban Yu-won couldn’t ask him to change the spell, so he bowed his head and backed away.

The Principal added a word as he left.

―If you do well, I’ll unlock the next permission.

“Next permission?”

―Solo exploration of the Tower.

Ban Yu-won raised his head, shocked.

―Then, I look forward to the next meeting.

However, at that moment, the Principal ordered him to get out, and Ban Yu-won was thrown out of the room by an invisible hand. His landing was surprisingly soft, as something cozy and fragrant cushioned his landing.

“How was the interview with the Principal?”

“Professor?!”

Ban Yu-Won backed away from Yoo Mina in embarrassment. However, Yoo Mina didn’t seem to care.

“The Principal always kicks out his guests that way. He has a unique personality.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I was waiting to catch you here from the beginning.”

Yoo Mina, laughing at her joke, suddenly looked at the pendant on his chest, and her eyes twinkled.

“It seems the Principal has high expectations for you. That’s an outside entry permit.”

“He told me to quickly develop the skills I lack by exploring the dungeons outside.”

“It’s a good method. But be very careful. Outside of the academy, our eyes won’t reach you.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Oh, right.”

Yoo Mina said, clapping her hands as if she had suddenly remembered something.

“If you have some spare time after exploring the dungeon, stopping by an outside city wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“Oh?”

“I think the food and drinks inside the academy are boring, whether at the restaurants or the canteen. They don’t even sell liquor, and I’m telling you, they don’t.”

Ban Yu-won could guess what Yoo Mina wanted.

“Do you want me to bring some to you? It will be limited to if there is a shopping mall that I can walk to by the dungeon, but….”

“Thank you! Can I entrust it to you, then?”

He was just offering out of courtesy, but Yoo Mina immediately accepted and started spouting specifics.

“The priests of the God of Spring’s Temple still brew their own fruit wine during the fasting period. The Honeymoon of the Spring’s Temple in Ronica is famous for its fantastic fruity aroma, rich foam, and sticky but refreshing aftertaste. Can I ask for two bottles if you find yourself in Ronica?”

Yoo Mina pulled something out, walked over to Ban Yu-won, and hung it on his shirt. Ban Yu-won, stunned by the scent of flowers intensifying, then suddenly, pulling away, belatedly noticed the jeweled brooch carved into the shape of a colorful flower.

“If you wear this, they will give you the bottles without asking. While buying them, feel free to grab some snacks, and I think that’ll be all.”

Yoo Mina winked at Ban Yoo-won. It wasn’t hard for him to realize that Yoo Mina, and the Principal, were showing him excessive kindness.

“Thank you. Then I’ll be off.”

“I hope it’s not too late.”

Yoo Mina smiled. It looked like she was expecting him to leave right away. Of course, that’s what he intended too.

If there was one problem, it was the spell.

“Drown….”

“Drown?”

“D-D….”

“D-D?”

Unable to overcome the shame, Ban Yu-won mumbled the spell in his mind and cursed the President. But the moment he gathered the courage and forced himself to say it aloud, he realized that his surroundings had already changed.

He was in a dungeon.

‘Oh, so I could just say it in my head?!’

While he didn’t know what to do, with mixed feelings of relief for not shaming himself in front of the professor and anger at the President who deceived him, something poked his shoulder. The Goblin Club twirled in the air – it had been rather quiet lately, scared of the people with their strong presence.

“Thank you. I should be careful.”

He couldn’t relax here in the dungeon. He opened his inventory and took out a long sword with a shiny blue blade.

Beheader’s Longsword [Magic Sword 12, Murder 19, Blood Poison 9]

This was made by gathering the energy of things with the concept of Sword among the relics in the trunk (all the remaining concepts were buried in the Code Core). Simply put, the weapon was a hard and sharp sword that contained Magic Power, which was more lethal when dealing with a human-type enemy, and it bled poison whenever it cut an enemy.

To Ban Yu-won, it was more powerful than the Goblin Club he made during the practical evaluation, but in fact, artifacts with this level of ability weren’t uncommon to see.

‘Can’t forget my defenses either.’

Few of the artifacts brought by his grandfather held the Armor concept. However, several with the concept of Amulet worked to prevent their owner’s harm, and Ban Yu-won pulled out all of them and gave them to his school uniform. As a result, the defensive power of his uniform matched a suit of armor.

“Alright, let’s go!”

Ban Yu-won walked with confidence as it was his second dungeon expedition. The Goblin Club escorted him, waving through the air threateningly.

He’d hardly started walking when a volley of arrows sailed from the darkness ahead!

“This is a little different from what I imagined?!”

Ban Yu-won dropped down, and the Goblin Club spun in the air to deflect the arrows.

“It’s a human!”

“A weak human…how long has it been?!”

The monsters that appeared were the Goblins he fought in the practical evaluation. But they weren’t blind, and above that, they all wielded bows and arrows! A dungeon where cowardly monsters come attacking with bows right from the start? It was a bit discouraging to Ban Yu-won, who tried to test the power of swordsmanship he had practiced with his sister.

“Shoot!”

“The weak human has no shield! Tonight’s dinner is human skewers!”

The Goblin bastards were chattering and nocking arrows. However, if they thought Ban Yu-won brought only a sword to the dungeon, they were dead wrong.

“Club.”

He knew his greatest weapon was the miraculously-born weapon, the Goblin Club. The two days he spent on Earth hadn’t only been spent on self-improvement and saying goodbye; he’d also researched improving his artifact.

“Transform.”

Ban Yu-won declared.

The Goblin Club compressed into a sphere, and in the next moment, it transformed into a firearm familiar to all Korean military servicemen. To be precise, it was a Magic Gun version of that and, simultaneously, a Spirit Gun.

“Start shooting!”

―Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo

When Ban Yu-won’s command was issued, the Goblin Club – no longer a club – aimed at the Goblins and fired.

This shining moment for the concept of Transformation made collecting and dismantling all those toys he collected worth it!